Hi, I'm the new guy here with a 2002 fuel injected Heritage Softail (FLSTCI) that now has 140,000 miles on it that is not starting intermittently and I'm at my wits end! I hope someone can help with this problem! I posted this thread in the general discussion section too by mistake. Sorry. The explanation is a bit wordy but I wanted to give all of the pertinent information. This condition came up after going from 88 to 95 cubic inches at about 81,000 miles. The bike never failed to start before that even down into the twenties but it could be coincidence. The 95 inch upgrade consisted of Weisco flat top pistons, 9:1, Andrews T21 gear drive cams, an Arlen Ness Big Sucker air filter kit along with a SuperTrapp 2 into 1 exhaust system. The set up has been dyno tuned at a Power Commander tune center. The non-starting usually happens when the temperatures gets cool, say below fifty degrees. The engine turns over fine and tries to catch but if it doesn't catch right away it will not catch at all. When I check systems when it won't start there is no spark. If I jump the bike from my truck it will start and run fine. If I wait until it's above fifty degrees it will start and run fine. If it is plugged into a Battery Tender before trying to start it in the cold it will start at a lower temperature than it would if the Battery Tender wasn't used. All of this seems to point to a bad battery but I've had two new Harley Davidson replacements and that doesn't fix it. The battery voltage is 12.85 before trying to start the bike without the Battery Tender and the charging system checks good at 14.4 volts at an idle. I've installed new #2 gauge battery cables, new plugs and wires, a new starter relay, a new Power Commander and a new Terry Components 1.4 KW starter, for another reason. A Harley shop said they installed a new crankshaft position sensor in an attempt to fix it but I have my doubts. I think it just got warm enough by the time they looked at it to start on its own since the "new sensor" wires don't look new. In an attempt to isolate an individual component, one at a time I have taken off the coil, turn signal security module, crankshaft position sensor, computer and Power Commander and refrigerated each one to see if the bike will start and it did start with each part cold. Although the low temperatures seem to be the big problem I have noticed that even in warm weather the bike seems to turn over too long at times, several revolutions, before it starts but it does start. No matter how the bike is finally started it runs flawlessly once it does start, no matter what the temperature. I wonder if it could be too much resistance someplace in the system. I have cleaned connections at the ignition switch, turn signal module, crank shaft position sensor, battery, starter, main circuit breaker and all the fuses and relays. Incidentally I have also installed a ground wire from one starter anchoring bolt directly to the battery. Does anyone have any ideas? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

You need a bigger battery. It isn't that your battery is doing anythong other than what it's designed to do, but, rather, it isn't designed to provide as much power as you need with those mods. The battery tender and jumping it suppliments the current the battery is providing. That solves the problem so a battery capable of provide more current solves the problem, i.e. cranking amps.

 

I've thought about that but didn't buy one thinking the mods were not significant enough to warrant a big amp battery. I was thinking 9:1 compression isn't much but I don't know how much the cylinder pressure has increased with the new cams either but it could be significant. It's worth a shot though so thanks for the suggestion. Do you have a brand in mind that is reputable?
I did not mention in my original post that when the bike fails to start it activates the check engine light. I don't know the code but the dealer has erased the code on two occasions and he told me it was a TSSM code. This code has popped up since late 2002 even before the no start situation. It did usually appear during starting but on one occasion it happened while I was riding down the road. The code does not seem to effect the way the bike runs. Had I not been out riding at night when the check engine light flashed on I would never have know it. The quick flash of the check engine light in the dark caught my eye but didn't seem to change the way the bike was running at the time. I'm beginning to think I should replace that anyway but have held off since it was an issue before the no start as I mentioned.

 

It isn't the mods, it's the jumping. That jumping it starts it is a good reason to think more juice will start it. Whether it's the mods or some other reason you need more jucie is largely irrelevant. You aren't going to undo the mods. There's no indication there's any problem with those.

A TSSM code doesn't mean a code indicating a problem with the TSSM, but rather that the TSSM is the component detecting the problem. One of the problems it detects is problems with the start relay. You might try refigerating that and the battery as well. The output of the battery drops with temp, but it may take the bike being cold as well. If so then you're rather stuck until fall/winter unless you have a very big refigerator that your wife doesn't mind you sticking the bike in.

If it is that the battery can't supply enough juice then the voltage while cranking will drop. If you can reproduce the problem or come fall/winter you should find that once the voltage while cranking drops below a certain point it doesn't start. Since your battery is fine, you don't have a problem now, you might as well ride out the season with it. Unless you can reproduce it I wouldn't change anything out in the hopes if fixes a problem six months from now. I would do it when I can tell if it actually fixed the problem.

 

I appreciate your help! I agree with you that the jumping is a huge indicator but I'd still like to know why I need more juice and why the need arose after the mods. Was I on the brink of a no start situation just before the mods, say from a corroded connection some place, and those mods pushed it over the edge, and if so will the corrosion continue with the new battery and eventually I'll have to mount a hack to carry extra batteries? A bit of an exaggeration but you get my drift. I think I'd like to guess it was the mods adding the resistance that pushed it over the edge.

I have replaced the start relay within the past couple of days. I popped the cover off of the original one and cut two different pieces of sandpaper into a configuration that would allow me to get it between the contact points to clean them both and a lot of black came off so I thought that might be offering too much resistance so for the $5 I replaced it. It got cool enough here in New England, upper forties, to find out that didn't help. Oh well, only $5 there.

The reason I'm trying to take care of this now is that we tend to ride into northern New England and often it is cool enough in the morning for me to end up having to wait in a motel parking lot for it to get warm enough outside for the bike to start......not a pleasant situation. I should have frozen the battery but didn't think of that, duh! Anyway, ordered a new 310 C.C.A., 18 AH Yuasa battery yesterday and I should see it tomorrow. Now it will probably not get cool enough here to check if that corrects the problem. I'll keep you posted.

On the TSSM, again I'm lost. As I mentioned this has been going on since 2002, well before the bike wouldn't start, but it is aggravating to get that check engine light, which by the way is on now since the difficulty starting just a few days ago after the relay was replaced. I guess I have to look on the bright side, fifty starts and it'll be gone! I'm really not super concerned about that problem since I don't think it has anything to do with the no start situation but would like to correct it someday. Probably a question for a future post here after the start problem is resolved.

 

Any update? I am having the same issue, and wonder if you found what is causing hard/no start condition?